# Cigar Oasis and Hydra mod, JuJuMan Style!



## JuJuMan16 (Apr 6, 2009)

WARNING, PIC INTENSIVE

After reusing the cartridge of my cigar oasis ultra many many times, I started noticing that the floral foam inside kept shrinking, and its ability to hold water was deteriorating. I found myself thinking of how I could extend the life of the cartridge, I really hate the idea of just tossing it. So I came up with the idea of replacing the floral foam with water absorbing crystals, is not very original, but my mod certainly is.

This is the humidifier, Cigar Oasis Ultra Electronic Cigar Humidifiers. 
My only obstacle would be to keep the crystals from falling out of the holes of the cartridge. I had some extra aluminum wire mesh that I bought at an arts and crafts store for another project, so I had the idea of building a cage inside the cartridge that could keep the crystals inside. The mesh is fine enough to allow air to pass through, and it keeps the dry gels from falling out.

I started out with an exacto knife and I carefully removed both halves of the cartridge. This was easier than I thought it would be. I built the cage inside and using very small amounts of super glue (zap, which I use to build miniature figures) and let it dry for a few days. Today I took a small trip to the arts and craft store by me (Michaels) and I bought a packet of water absorbing crystals called "Water Jewels". The packet cost me a whopping 99 cents. The crystals consist of 100% Sodium Polycrylate, which is non-toxic. You can read more info on it here http://www.hmsmedical.com/images/44-OC MSDS.pdf. I figured if I use the inexpensive crystals, I can reuse the cartridge many time more, and if they go bad, I can open it again and replace them, or buy a new cartridge.

Here are some pics to give you an idea.

The open cartridge with the mesh inside








And the top view.


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## JuJuMan16 (Apr 6, 2009)

The crystals come in this packet









And this is the amount i poured in the cup for a few hours to absorb water










Then a before and after


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## JuJuMan16 (Apr 6, 2009)

This is the actual size of the crystals, on the left after it absorbed water, on the right the size before water is added, compared to a penny. Huge difference.










I filled the cartridge and this is how it looks.










I super glued the corners using as little glue as possible, and let it dry thoroughly before plugging it to the humidifier. So far it is working great. 
After that I moved on to the next humidifier, my Hydra / Humi-Care from CI. I gutted out the cartridge from that one also, and I replaced it with the Crystals. This was very easy to do since the opening of the cartridge is large, allowing you to take the foam out and refilling it very easy. Here are some more pics of the results.


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## JuJuMan16 (Apr 6, 2009)

As they shrink, I will be posting pics of how it looks like, and I will be closely monitoring how the humidor is affected.

Questions, comments, suggestions?

After all you may ask, why go through all the trouble. I can't help it, I am a mod whore. I am always trying to improve things, and if doesn't work out, $20 on cartridges I had to buy anyways, and im back to normal.


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## GlassEye (Oct 25, 2009)

Do you know what RH those put out? I know it doesn't matter really for your purpose, but I have been wanting to experiment with those crystals, just have yet to get around to it.

They look much better than the green foam, nice idea.


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## JuJuMan16 (Apr 6, 2009)

GlassEye said:


> Do you know what RH those put out? I know it doesn't matter really for your purpose, but I have been wanting to experiment with those crystals, just have yet to get around to it.
> 
> They look much better than the green foam, nice idea.


I left a couple in a large tupperware with a hygrometer inside, i also had the same question. I will post the results as well.


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## bloominonion (Apr 6, 2010)

That is wicked how much water those things adsorb! i would really like to see how it turns out!.


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## JuJuMan16 (Apr 6, 2009)

I did some research before I jumped into it though, if you go to the drymistat page, this is the info they give you about their crystals.

The Crystals

... One pound of Crystals can soak up 25 gallons of water. *You may have seen something similar to them used in baby diapers or the plant industry.* They get larger when they soak up this liquid. As the water evaporates, the Crystals get smaller. This is the reason we use them. It gives you a visual indication of when it's time to add water. No more guessing when the unit is drying out. When the volume of the crystals significantly decreases in the tube, it's time to add water...

If you look up what they fill up diapers with, you will find that they use Sodium Polycrylate. I bought these in the floral section at Michaels.


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## pomorider (Nov 14, 2009)

I am curious to see what these beads will do.


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## bxcarracer (Aug 17, 2009)

MMM the crystals look like tapica pearls, ha anyways, cool mod.


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## ekengland07 (May 20, 2009)

Very cool! I'm excited to see what RH it holds.


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## Herf N Turf (Dec 31, 2008)

Carlos,

That looks like an ingenious solution. One of the many issues I have with CO is the way they hog tie you to the hidden costs of cartridges. They have a very short (planned obsolescence) shelf life and at about five years, you've doubled the original cost of the unit. The cartridges are sealed and the foam glued in, for no other reason than to discourage the user from doing exactly what you did; replace the foam with vastly superior, longer lasting media!

As far as humidity, since the gels aren't regulated, it will be down to the unit to regulate RH. You shouldn't see any perceptible difference in performance.

Great mod. Nice pics. Well done.


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## bloominonion (Apr 6, 2010)

Do you think you could use these in any situation outside of the oasis system?


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## socapots (Feb 22, 2010)

nice topic man.
good pics too. 
thanks for sharing


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## JuJuMan16 (Apr 6, 2009)

Ok so here's a quick update. I did some testing over the past few days. I did some tests using a clear airtight container (the waterproof kind with the latches and rubber seal), a xikar hygrometer and the beads. At first the reading was off the charts, there was condensation in one corner, but then again i put way too many beads for the size of the container. I stared to reduce the amount of beads and the humidity managed to get down to 80%. Still high, but im not giving up yet. The next phase is to see if the beads absorb 50/50 solution and test with that, it should control the rh a bit more. 

The humidity in both humidors is on the money. As Herf N Turf mentioned, the unit is regulating the rh the way it was intended to. 

Perhaps the mod for the Oasis Ultra is a bit complicated, i would only do it if you are going to replace the cartridge and you want to play around the one you are tossing out. But i think the one for the Hydra cartridge is the way to go. You never have to buy another cartridge again, and if the beads go bad, 99 cents will last you years.


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## JuJuMan16 (Apr 6, 2009)

Quick update guys. I got home from work to a beeping hydra alert letting me know that it was out of water. The beads were back to their original size, and the cartridge was dry. I inspected the inside, and not one spec of mold or anything out of the ordinary. I filled it back up with water and after 30 mins 90% the water was absorbed. The humidor has been exactly at 68% how i had it set up. I did not have to tweak the calibration or anything from the original cartridge. For it to last exactly a month and a half, im happy with that. 

As for the Cigar Oasis mod, i wouldn't recommend it. I think the plastic tabs that it has to control the flow prevent this mod to work. And to be honest, its too much work. It says its out of water every few days, even though the beads are still good.

My suggestion, if you have a hydra, DO IT!


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## Herf N Turf (Dec 31, 2008)

JuJuMan16 said:


> Quick update guys. I got home from work to a beeping hydra alert letting me know that it was out of water. The beads were back to their original size, and the cartridge was dry. I inspected the inside, and not one spec of mold or anything out of the ordinary. I filled it back up with water and after 30 mins 90% the water was absorbed. The humidor has been exactly at 68% how i had it set up. I did not have to tweak the calibration or anything from the original cartridge. For it to last exactly a month and a half, im happy with that.
> 
> As for the Cigar Oasis mod, i wouldn't recommend it. I think the plastic tabs that it has to control the flow prevent this mod to work. And to be honest, its too much work. It says its out of water every few days, even though the beads are still good.
> 
> My suggestion, if you have a hydra, DO IT!


As I said before, I think CO is "hip" to modding. I honestly think they took the whole modding thing into account when they designed their cartridges; they went to great lengths to discourage modding. For that, I think they're sinister!

In the end, it's a crappy, consumer-grade product. Think of a nine-speed blender from Walmart vs a single-speed, Hamilton-Beech Commercial blender! It's made for those who simply do not understand the dynamics of humidification. If they did, they'd use beads, or in a larger vessel, an Accumonitor.


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## a2t2p (Oct 28, 2010)

hey juju- i have the hydra and want to attempt this. how many of these beads do you use in the hydra? just enough to fill the cartridge when they are wet or is that too much?

how did the 50/50 solution work? did the pg get soaked up? 

lots of questions, thanks in advance


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## JuJuMan16 (Apr 6, 2009)

Yeah, let the beads soak up and absorb water. The fill up about 90%. My humidor is perfect (my definition of perfect that is), still running on water beads. 

Skip the 50/50, let the hydra handle the humidity. I only tried the 50/50 on the beads once, i cant remember if it did.


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## stewartu (Jul 23, 2010)

Where would one find these beads?


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## si1verfish (Aug 10, 2010)

stewartu said:


> Where would one find these beads?


The cheapest is probably ebay. I paid around $3 shipped. Search for "water deco beads", most sellers will allow you to select your color (clear). I did this mod 3 months ago, and I think it's considerably better than the foam. I still haven't refilled. Just make sure they're "fully" (overnight) saturated before loading them. As a last step, I gave them a few drops of PG to inhibit mold. So far, so good.


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## Gcocks (Oct 24, 2011)

JuJuMan16 said:


> Quick update guys. I got home from work to a beeping hydra alert letting me know that it was out of water. The beads were back to their original size, and the cartridge was dry. I inspected the inside, and not one spec of mold or anything out of the ordinary. I filled it back up with water and after 30 mins 90% the water was absorbed. The humidor has been exactly at 68% how i had it set up. I did not have to tweak the calibration or anything from the original cartridge. For it to last exactly a month and a half, im happy with that.
> 
> As for the Cigar Oasis mod, i wouldn't recommend it. I think the plastic tabs that it has to control the flow prevent this mod to work. And to be honest, its too much work. It says its out of water every few days, even though the beads are still good.
> 
> My suggestion, if you have a hydra, DO IT!


I have a CO and don't quite understand what the plastic tabs that control flow are.
Should I not do this to my CO?
Looks like a great mod.

Edit: unit is a CO XL plus, looks like a real easy mod.

Thanks


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## Flynhir (Dec 20, 2011)

I did this mod and it seems to be working great! paid $12 for 14 oz pack of beads on ebay. so far so good!


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## xixon (Mar 31, 2012)

I was recently sent this link by a friend as I was having problems finding a replacement cartridge for my Oasis XL Plus....I was so impressed with this thread that I joined Puff 

Anyhow, I did find a replacement cartridge but have also tried this mod with my old cartridge...worked out very well...only $4.95 for a 30 grams of "Water-Gems"

I used 1 teaspoon....(5ml) wow did they ever expand, my guess is I soaked about 4 times to much, 1/4 teaspoon (1.25 ml) would have been about right.

I was able to put only about 200 of the soaked gems into the cartridge....will see how it regulates the humidity in my humi


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## JuJuMan16 (Apr 6, 2009)

Hey folks, just a quick update on this one. Its been almost 3 years, and I'm still getting messages about this mod. Just wanted to let you all know that I am still running the hydra with the water jewels (balls) and I have never had to buy a new cartridge. I have replaced the balls about 4 times, and not because of mold or anything, just to run new ones and give the cartridge a cleaning. I still have the original jewels packet half empty. 

Take care.


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## yellot00tr (Feb 7, 2013)

Impressed that it still works well after thatmany years


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